Adjustment for chair-seat



April 24, 1956 A. z. BOYAJIAN 2,742,954

ADJUSTMENT FOR CHAIR-SEAT Filed Nov. 24, 1954 chair.

l" Application November 24, 1954, Serial No. 470,892

18 Claims. (Cl. 155-131) This'invention relates to improvements inchair-seats of the kind disclosed in my Patent No. 2,604,143, for use inconjunction with' full size chairs and particularly to improvedm'eansfor adjusting the seat relative to the chair back to level it.

The principal'object of this invention is to provide an adjustmentdevice for chair-seats which will be operative regardless of theinclination or shape of the back and regardless of the position orspacing of the supporting spindles or bars in the back to which it is tobe applied. Another object is to provide an adjustment device which isequally useful with a fixed or'foldable type of chairseat and does notinterfere with collapsing a foldable seat. Another object is to'providean adjusting device'for foldable chair-seats which may be initiallyadjusted to a predetermined position and will automatically reset itselfwhen the seat is unfolded for use. Another object is to provide a'devicewhich can be manipulated unseen with a minimum of effort and withoutadjustment of screw threaded parts, clamps, nuts and the like which areprone to become fixed and to require tools to loosen or set them.A'further object is to provide a device which is quick-acting,inexpensive to manufacture, durable and may be applied to the chair-seatwithout spoiling its appearance. Another object is to provide anadjustment device for pcsitioning andrepositioning parts with referenceto each other ,which, while particularly adaptable to leveling achair-seat utility for other purposes.

As herein illustrated the device is shown in conjunction with achair-seat having a seat, back, tray and hooks for.

'ng the same .fromlthe top rail of the back of a In accordance with theinvention the seat is suspended from the top rail of the chair back bythe aforesaid'hooks 'and an adjustable brace is mounted on the back tohold the lower part thereof at different distances from'gthe chair backon which it is suspended depending upon the position and availability ofsupporting structure below the top rail of the chair'back. The brace isconnected to'the back of the chair-seat so that it may be swungrearwardly at an angle thereto and there is a latch plate fastened tothe seat for holding the brace at a predetermined angular position withreference to the back. The brace'has spaced parallel bearing elementswhich parallel the laterahedges of the'back and a horizontal bearingelement which spans the parallel bearing elements thereby providingbearing surfaces which extend downwardly toward the seat for engagementwith any transversely extending. bars in the chair back and atransversely extending bearing surface for engagement with any uprightbars or spindles inthe chair back. The latch plate is slidably, mountedon the underside of the seat for forwauidjand rearward movement-and hasa part at its rear end adapted to bear against the brace to hold itexetnded at the, selected angular position desired. The, latch carries aplurality of-spaced notches distributed along a line parallelto thedirection of sliding movement thereof and a pin is fixed in the seatjina position to be engaged by' the notches. The notches are inclined tolock the plate in United States Patel if 1 its position of adjustment. Astrong spring is optionally In accordance with the invention the platemay be initial-' stressed between the spaced points on the seat and thelatch plate and operates on the plate to restore it to its forwardposition when manually disengaged from the pins and incidentally assistsin holding the plate engaged with the pins at any given positionof"adjustme'nt. More specifically the plate is pivotally and slidablyfastened to the seat and has in it an elongate slot, along one edge ofwhich is a plurality of notches with which the pin may selectively beengaged. The spring is optional and if used is' anchored between pointsspaced longitudinally and diagonally of the direction of movement of theplate so that it urges the plate laterally so as to hold the notchesagainst the pin and urges the plate forwardly when the plate isdisengaged from the pin to erative position. I

The brace and latch plate are carried respectively by the back and seatwhich are articulated for folding and hence are movable into and out ofoperative position with respect to each other as the parts are foldedand unfolded;

ly adjusted to a predetermined setting to hold the'brace at apredetermined angle withrespect to the back and when set at saidpredetermined position will .automatical-- ly reset the brace at itsdesired angular position each time the'back is unfolded and set seat.

In a broader aspect the device provides for quick ad-- justment betweenany two parts where adjustment of one part relativeto the other isdesired. 'As such the parts are connected together for longitudinalsliding movement relative to each other and pivotalmovement; one of theparts carries a fixed pin and the other a slot engaged with the pinwhich has along one edge spaced notches and a spring is fastened understress at its ends to the respective parts at points spaced bothlongitudinally and diagonally of the direction of sliding'movementbetween the parts. The invention will now be described in greater'detailwith reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the chair-seat suspended on the back of achair with the adjusting device partially distended;

Fig. la is a plan view of a conventional chair having a back structurewherein there are spindles arranged in a circle showing the chair-seat;

Fig. lb is a side elevation of a conventional chair having a backstructure wherein there are transverse bars showing the position of therear edge of the chairposition of the rear edge of the seat in theabsence of a brace and supported by a brace; Fig." 2 is a'back view ofthe chair-seat showing the;

adjusting device retracted;

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the chair-seat showing the positioning platepartially distended; and

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the chair-seat shown in folded,intermediate and unfolded positions.

Referring to the drawings'there is shown a conven-' tional chair 10having a seat 12, legs 14 and back 16 and on the back of the chair issuspended a high chair 18. This high chair or chair-seat, as it will becalled hereinafter, is of the collapsible kind disclosed in the"above-identified Patent No. 2,604,143; although, it is to be understoodthat the invention is not confined in its applicationto collapsiblechair-seats and consists of a bottom 20,. back 22 and a tray 24. A pairof spaced .pivoted arms 26-26 are connected to opposite sides of theback 22 near the top, preferably being madeg df stiff wire, and arecovered with rubber tubing for suspending the chair-seat from the top ofthe chair back 16. I With out some means for supporting the bottom ofthe,chair- .seat at a given distance from the backof the chair the planeof the seat 20 would occupy variouspositions of Patented Apr. 24, 1956-restore it to its forward inop-' upright with respect to the slantdepending upon the shape and inclination of the chair back 16 and of theposition of supporting struc ture in the chair back itself. For example,if there were vertical spindles arranged circularly in the back of thechair as shown in Fig. la therlower part of the chairseat being narrowerthan the frame at the back except for the brace 28, the seat would swingrearwardly so far before it came in contact with the spindles that theseat 20 would slope forwardly and downwardly with the result that thechild would slide forward to a very uncomfortable position or possiblyslide out of the chairseat. Moreover dishes and other articles placed onthe tray would slide off. Similarly if instead of vertical spindlescross bars were used in the back as shown in Fig. lb the lower part ofthe seat might not come opposite one of the bars and hence the seatwould swing rearwardly as shown in dot and dash lines so that the bottom20 would again be inclined forwardly and downwardly. The purpose of thisinvention is to provide adjustable means for holding the chair-seat withits bottom 20 in a substantially horizontal position regardless of thepeculiarities of the structure of the chair back and as illustratedherein this is accomplished by providing a swingable brace 28 and alatch plate 30 for holding it' at such an angular position withreference to the back that the bottom of the chair-seat is level. Thebrace 28 consists of a U-shaped piece of stiff wire covered with a,rubber tube which has spaced parallel legs 32--32 and a horizontalconnecting loop 34. The ends of the legs 32-32 are pivotally connectedto the sides of the chair-seat back 22 by pins 36-36 and constitutedownwardly extending, spaced parallel bearing surfaces which by suitableangular adjustment may be engaged with horizontally positionedstructural members in the chair back 16. The horizontal loop portion 34provides a transverse bearing surface which may be engaged withvertically disposed structural members in the chair back; as for exampleone or more spindles set between the top of the chair back and the chairseat. As thus constructed the brace will accommodate itself to thetransverse curvature of substantially any chair back regardless of theposition and of the location of the'vertical or horizontal supportstherein.

The latch plate 30 (Figs. 1 and 3) consists of a flat metal plate 38which has at itsrear end an upwardly and rearwardly inclined lip 40adapted to bear against the brace 28 and to hold the same at any desiredangular position with reference to the back. The vertical rise of thelip 40 compensates for the radius of swing of the brace so that itremains in engagement with the lip throughout its angular movement, andalso automatically cams the brace to the desired position duringunfolding of the chair-seat back as it is raised to an upright positionwith respect to the bottom. The plate 38 is slidably fastened to thebottom of the seat 20 for linear movement forwardly and rearwardly andto this end has in it a pair of spaced slots 42 and 44 for engagementwith a pair of spaced screws 46 and 48, the latter having heads whichretain the plate in place. The

rearmost slot 42 has along one edge thereofa plurality of spaced notcheslocated longitudinally thereof and along a line which coincides with thecenter line of the slot. 44 thus increasing the width of the slot 42 ateach notch by approximately twice its normal width. The plate is thusnot only movable longitudinally but is swingable angularly in the planeof the bottom about the screw 48 as a center when one of the notches isopposite the screw 46. By swinging the plate 38 toward the left as shownin Fig. 3 so as to bring the screw 46 into the body of the slot 42 andthen sliding it forwardly or rearwardly any one of the notches 50 may bebrought into a position opposite] the screw 46. If

the notches from the screw by pressure tending to collapse the brace aswill normally be exerted during use of the chair-seat by the weight ofthe occupant which tends to swing the chair-seat rearwardly. Theinclination of the notches found best for holding the parts securelylocked without danger of disengagement and yet without making itdifficult to disengage the parts when it is desired to adjust the samewas found to be 30:15". Optionally a coiled spring 52 is anchored thenthfe plate is swung toward the right the selected notch may be engagedwith the screw thus to latch the plate at that position. Preferably thenotches 50 are inclined. rearwardly so as to oppose disengagement ofl-tion includes all modifications andequivalents to the lip 40 at 54 andis stretched diagonally across the center line of the plate and attachedat its opposite end by a screw 56 to the rear edge of the seat. Thespring provides means for returning the plate to its inoperativeposition when it is desired to collapse the brace and also tends to urgethe plate forwardly and laterally so as to keep the screw 46 in thenotch with which it is engaged.

The brace which has heretofore been described as U-shaped is sodimensioned that when it is collapsed against the back of the chair-seatit will lie substantially in the plane of the back and will notinterfere with folding the seat. In order that the positioning plate maylikewise be collapsed to an out-of-the-way position the lower part ofthe back 22 is cut away to provide a lenticular opening 58 (Fig. 2) intowhich the lip 40 may be drawn.

As will be seen by reference to Fig. 4 the lip 40 at the end of thepositioning plate lies in the path of the lower end of the brace as theback is lifted to an upright position so that during raising of the backthe brace is caught on the lip, cammed outwardly and held thereby duringfinal movement of the back to its upright position. 6 Thus if thepositioning plate is preset for holding the brace at a predeterminedangular position with respect to the back and is left in this positionit will automatically reset the brace at the aforesaid position eachtime the parts are un-' folded after having been folded for storingwithout having to re-adjust the positioning plate itself.

In using the chair-seat the hooks 26-46 are first placed over the top ofthe chair and then the lip 40 of the plate 30 is grasped and pulledrearwardly against the spring tension soas to push the brace 28rearwardly at an angle to the back of the seat until the brace bearsagainst some structural member in the chair back 16 which holds thechair-seat with its seat 20 in a horizontal position. When the lip isreleased the plate will automatically take up its adjusted position byengagement of the nearest slot therein with the screw 46. To release theplate it is merely necessary to swing it to the left as shown in Fig. 3to disengage the slot from the screw whereupon it will be drawnforwardly to its collapsed position with the lip housed within theopening 58.

As previously indicated the latch plate may be set at the desiredposition and fixed at this position and there after the chair-seat maybe folded for storage and reset;

up for use Without disturbing the plate which will matically engage thebrace as the back is folded to an upright position to move it to thedesired angular position with reference to the back. Thus once theproper settingv is found it is not necessary to change this settinguntil a different type of adult chair is used from which to pend it.

It is evident as discussed above that the device may be used equally aswell with nonollapsible chair-seats aswith collapsible chair-seats.Furthermore, it is contemplated that the latch plate may be used forother purposes where quick, sure and accurate adjustment of two partsrelativeto each other is desired, and it is contemplated that theinvention covers this broader application of the device as well as itsapplication to chair-seats.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only and that this invenwithin the scope of the appendedclaims.

which fall Iclaim: 1. A high chair comprising a seat, a back and at'ray,a pair of hooks connected to the back for suspending the high chair fromthe back of a conventional chair, a brace swingably mounted on the backfor movement from the plane of the back rearwardly at an angle. thereto,and a latch member mounted on the seat with a partfprojecting rearwardlyfor contact with the brace, said latch member being rearwardly movableto increase the angle between the back of the seat and the brace, aplurality of spaced notches carried by the latch member arrangedparallel to the direction of movement thereof, a pin fixed to the seatselectively engageable with the notches in the latch member by movementthereof relative to the pin, and a spring operating on the latch memberin a direction yieldably to hold the selected one of the notches engagedwiththepin.

2. A high chair comprising. a seat, a back and a tray. a painof hooksconnected tofthe back for suspending the high chair from the back of aconventional chair, a brace swingably mounted on the back for movementfrom the plane of the back rearwardly at'an angle thereto, and a latchplate mounted on the seat with an end'projecting rearwardly for contactwith the brace, said plate being rearwardly slidable to' swing the braceangularly away from the back, and angularly swingable with respect toone end in the plane of the seat, a plurality of spaced notches carriedby the latch plate which are arranged parallel to the direction ofslidable movement thereof, a pin fixed to the seat, said latch platebeing slidably movable with reference to the pin to bring any one of thenotches opposite the pin, and angularly swingable to engage a givennotch with the pin opposite it, and-a spring operating on the latchplate in a direction to hold the selected notched portion of the plateengaged with the pin. 3. A; high chair comprising a seat, a back and atray, apair ofhooks connected to the back for suspending the highchairfrom the back of a conventional chair, a brace swingably mounted on theback for movement from the plane of the back rearwardly at an anglethereto, and a latch plate mounted on the seat with a part projectingrearwardly for contact with the brace, said latch plate beinglongitudinally slidable forwardly and rearwardly to change the angularposition of the brace with respect to the back, and angularly swingablewith respect to its forward end and in the plane of the seat, aplurality of rearwardly inclined notches carried by the latch plate,said notches being arranged parallel to the direction of longitudinalmovement of the. latch plate, a pin fixed to the seat in a position tobe engaged by one of the notches and disengageable therefrom by swingingthe notch carrying portions of the plate away from the pin and astressed spring connected between spaced points on the latch plate andseat which opposes both longitudinal and angular movement of the plate.

4. A high chair comprising a seat, a back and a tray, a pair of hooksconnected to the back for suspending the high chair from the back of aconventional chair, a brace swingably mounted on the back for movementfrom the plane of the back rearwardly at an angle thereto, and alatchplate having tandemly arranged, longitudinally extending, elongateslotstherein, a pair of spaced pins fast to the seat, said pins beingengaged with the respective slots and slidably supporting the latchplate on the seat for longitudinal movement forwardly and rearwardly tochange the angular position of the brace with respect to the back, therearwardly located one of the slots having a plurality of notches alongone longitudinal edge which coincide with the longitudinalcenter line ofthe forward slot, with which the pin may selectively be engaged, saidpin being disengageable from a given notch by swinging the plateangularly with respect to the pin in the forward slot to bring the pinin the rear slot into contact with the opposite edge of its slot clearof the notches and a strong coiled spring connected to the plate andbottom of Y 6 a the seat at longitudinally spaced points, the rear endof the spring being anchored to the plate at theno'tched side of theslot and the forward end to the seat at the un-' notched side of theslot. f 5. An adjustment device comprising members pivotally andlinearly slidable relative to each other, a pin fixed in one part, theother part having a plurality of spaced notches for engagement with thepin and a spring stressed be: tween spaced points on the parts along thepath of linear sliding movement thereof and diagonally across said path.

6. A high chair according'to claim 1, whereinthe latch plate has anupwardly and forwardly turned lip constituting an abutment for holdingthe brace at a selected position of angular adjustment relative to theback.

7. A high chair according to claim 1, wherein the latch plate has a lipextending upwardly and forwardly which constitutes an abutment for thebrace and the back has at,

its lower part an opening in which the lip mayjbe se'ated:

when the latch'plate is retracted. I v

8. A high chair according to vclaim 1, wherein the 'brace has spacedparallel bearing surfaces paralleling the edges of the back and ahorizontal bearing surface extending transversely of the back. 9. A highchair according to claim 1, wherein the brace is U-shaped and ispivotally suspended at the'ends of its legs with the loop depending forengagement with the rearwardly projecting end of the latch plate.

10. A high chair according to claim 1,- wherein the brace is U-shapedand pivotally'suspended at its ends from the opposite sides of the backwith the loop depending and substantially level with the seat when incontact with the back.

, 1 1. A high chair according to claim 1, wherein ,the brace is U-shaped and is pivotally suspended at its ends from the opposite sidesof the back substantially vertically subjacent to the supporting hookswith its loop depending and substantially level with.the seat when hisin contact with the back. I H

'12. A foldable high chair having a collapsible seat, back and tray, abrace swingably attached to the back for swing'-' ing movement about ahorizontal axis extending transversely of the back and having dependingspaced parallel bearing surfaces and a horizontally, transverselyextending bearing surface, said brace being swingable substantially intothe plane of the back when the seat is collapsed,

.a latch plate fastened to the underside of the seat for forward andrearward sliding movement therein and angular movement in the plane ofthe bottom relative to its forward end, said plate having a rear endportion adapted to engage the brace and to hold the same at a selectedangular position away from the back, a pin fixed in the seat, aplurality of notches in the plate which may selectively be broughtopposite the pin by sliding movement of the plate and engaged therewithby angular movement thereof and a spring stretched between fixed pointson the plate and seat opposing both sliding and angular movement ofthe-plate.

13. A high chair comprising a seat, a back and a tray, means forsuspending the high chair from the back of a chair, a brace swingablymounted on the back for movement from the plane of the back rearwardlyat an angle thereto, a positioning member movably mounted on the seatfor movement rearwardly thereof, the rear extremity of the positioningmember being operably associated with the brace throughout the extent ofits rearward movement to effect rearward movement of the brace and tohold it at a selected angular position with respect to the back, andmeans for fixing the member relative to the seat to hold the brace atsaid selected position.

14. A high chair comprising a seat, a back and a tray, means forsuspending the high chair from the back of a chair, a brace swingablymounted on the back for movement from the plane of the back rearwardlyat an angular position thereto, a positioning member movably mounted onthe seat for movement rearwardly thereof, the rear extremityof thepositioning member constituting a cam surface operably associated withthe brace throughout rearward movement of the member to effect rearwardmovement of the brace and to hold it at a selected angular position withrespect to the back and means for fixing the positioning member relativeto the seat to hold the brace at said selected position.

15. A high chair comprising a seat, a back and a tray, articulate meansconnecting the parts for movement from open position for use to a foldedposition for storage, means for suporting the seat when open from theback of a chair, a brace mounted on the back of the high chair andmovable rearwardly therefrom for engagement with the back of the chairto hold the high chair back at a predetermined spacing from the back ofthe chair, a positioning plate operably associated with the brace to fixit in a selected position, said positioning plate and brace being soassociated that when the positioning plate is set in a predeterminedposition it automatically sets the brace at the desired position whenthe parts are unfolded.

, 16. A high chair comprising a seat, a back and a tray, articulatemeans connecting the parts for movement from an open position for use toa folded position for storage, means for supporting the seat when openfrom the back of a chair, a brace swingably mounted on the back formovement from the plane of the back rearwardly, a positioning platemounted on the seat for movement rearwardly in a plane which intersectsthe path of movement of the brace and effects movement of the brace toan angular position when displaced rearwardly, means for fixing thepositioning plate at a given position to set the brace at apredetermined angular position and a cam carried by the plate operablewhen the parts are unfolded of a chair, a brace swingably mounted on theback for movement from the plane of the back rearwardly, a positioningplate mounted on the seat for movement rearwardly thereof, said braceand plate lying substantially in the planes of the back and seatrespectively when they are folded, said brace being swingable with theback from the folded position thereof to an upright position withrespect to the seat, and a cam carried by the positioning plate whichlies in the path of movement of the free end of the brace duringswinging movement of the back from its folded to its upright position.

18. A high chair comprising a seat, a back and a tray, articulate meansconnecting the parts for movement from an open position for use to aclosed position for storage, means for supporting the seat when openfrom the back of a chair, a brace swingably mounted on the back formovement from the plane of the back rearwardly, said brace normallylying substantially in the plane of the back when the latter is foldedagainst the seat, a positioning plate mounted on the seat having aportion of it arranged to lie in the path of movement of the free end ofthe brace as the back is lifted to an upright position with respect tothe seat, said positioning plate being selectively positionable tointercede the free end of the brace and hold it at a predeterminedangular position with respect to the back as the latter is moved intoupright position.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS233,140 Candrian Oct. 12, 1880 433,649 Elias Aug. 5, 1890 540,034 SwanMay 28, 1895 822,472 Perkins June 5, 1906 836,810 Kapus Nov. 27, 19061,046,336 Schatz Dec. 3, 1912 1,283,225 Lea Oct. 29, 1918 2,604,143Boyajian July 22, 1952

